Husbands More Relaxed When Wife Doing Chores?

So says an article I recently read in The Daily Mail, which references a study conducted by researchers at the University of South Florida over a period of two years:

"Researchers came to the conclusion after spending two years studying 30 couples in Los Angeles testing their stress levels during the week and at the weekend.

Unsurprisingly they found wives relax when their husbands are helping out with the washing, cooking and cleaning, but men are most at ease when they have their feet up and their other halves are on domestic duty."

Hmmm...not altogether surprising, I guess, but it gets worse. The study found that

"wives generally spend more of their 'free' time at home doing housework, while their other halves spend more time indulging in their own hobbies. It confirms the traditional stereotype that women work harder for the household than men - often doing twice as much housework as their husbands.

Earlier this month researchers from the University of South Florida found that men react aggressively if they feel their masculinity is being threatened. After doing tasks traditionally associated with women, like cleaning or housework, men will deliberately behave in a more macho way to restore their self-esteem, they found."

I'm interested to know what you think. Does the findings of the study reflect your reality? Is it surprising?

I probably do more stuff in the house than my husband does, but he certainly pulls his weight, often taking on the tasks that I hate the most--for which I'm eternally grateful. Plus, you don't hear me complaining when he's out shoveling snow or doing the handyman things that I don't know how to do (and, frankly, don't care to learn). Although it is hard when you're both working 40+ hours a week, which is why I'm leaning more and more towards the idea of having someone come in to do the big stuff a couple of times a month. I just need to find someone reliable who doesn't cut corners. Any recs in the GTA would be appreciated!

As for right now I think M and I have struck a good balance and that these things really do depend on the individual couple, but I'd like to hear your thoughts on all this!


Photos: Heather Evans Smith Photography